Preparation of triptolide-loaded dissolving microneedles and its transdermal penetration / 中国中药杂志

Triptolide(TP), the main active and toxic component of Tripterygium wilfordii, has the limitations of low bioavailability, poor absorption, low concentration in plasma, and small lethal dose. Microneedle(MN), the hybrid of hypodermic needle and transdermal patch, is a physical penetration-enhancing system. Dissolving microneedles(DMNs) can be tailored to specific needs of degradation rate. In this study, the TP-loaded DMNs(DMNs-TP) were prepared with the two-step centrifugation method. The optimal ratio of PVA to PVP K30, water content in matrix solution, demoulding method, and plasticizer for preparing DMNs were investigated with the indexes of formability and mechanical strength. The drug loading capacity was determined by HPLC and morphological characteristics were observed under an optical microscope. The mechanical properties were investigated by H&E staining and Franz diffusion cell was used to detect the in vitro skin permeation characteristics. Through the experiment, we confirmed that the optimal backing material should be PVA and PVP K30(3∶1) and the optimal ratio of matrix material to water should be 3∶4. The prepared DMNs-TP were pyramidal with smooth surface and length of approximately 550 μm. Each patch(2.75 cm~2) had the drug loading capacity of(153.41±2.29) μg, and TP was located in the upper part of the needle. The results of in vitro skin permeation assay demonstrated that the cumulative penetration of TP in DMNs-TP reached 80% in 24 h, while little TP solution penetrated the skin, which proved that DMNs promoted the transdermal delivery of TP.

Preparation of neurotoxin loaded dissolving microneedles and its transdermal penetration / 中草药

Objective: To prepare Naja atra neurotoxin (NT) loaded dissolving microneedles (DMNs-NT), and investigate the physicochemical properties and in vitro transdermal properties. Methods: DMNs-NT was prepared by a two-step centrifugation method. The ratio of CS and PVP K30, the water content of the matrix solution, and the backing layer material were optimized by the indexes of formability and mechanical strength of the microneedles and flexibility of the backing layer. The drug loading content was determined by HPLC, and the morphological characteristics were observed under an optical microscope, and the stability was also examined. Franz diffusion cell was used to investigate its in vitro skin permeation characteristics. Results: Through the single-factor exploration, we confirmed that the optimal prescription technique for DMNs-NT preparation was a 1:1 ratio of CS and PVP k30, a 5:4 ratio of matrix material and water, with CMC as the backing layer material. The DMNs-NT had a pyramidal shape with a smooth surface and a length of approximately 500 μm. The drug loading content of per tablet was (15.4 ± 0.5) μg. The drug was located in the upper part of the needle. DMNs-NT had good stability within 3 months. The results of in vitro skin permeation assay showed that the cumulative penetration of NT in DMNs-NT could reach 95.8% in 4 h, while NT solution barely penetrated the skin, which proved that it had a good promoting effect on NT transdermal delivery. Conclusion: In this study, DMNs-NT had good mechanical properties and good skin penetration, which realized the transdermal drug delivery of macromolecular drugs.